when life gives you love, revised
by deadlybeautiful
Summary: Jade is the daughter of Sam and Emily and has grown up with the Pack. After a terrifying encounter with a thirsty vampire she starts to change. Becoming a werewolf doesn't bother her at all, but falling in love with her best friend is different. Embry/Oc
1. Chapter 1

**This bitch is being revised. Some stuff is going to change, not the plot or anything major, just small stuff and, as always, my horrible grammar because re-reading this for the first time in a _long_ time made me cringe in horror.  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own _Twilight_**

**_

* * *

_**

I let out an irritated sigh.

To say I was angry was an understatement, I was furious.

I had to hobble my way home- on _crutches_- because _someone_ didn't pick me up. It's not like my anger wasn't justified, he _said_ he was going to pick me up. I just knew I should have gotten a ride from Meg when he was twenty minutes late, but he always does what he's says he's going to do, so I had no reason to think he wouldn't be there.

I let out a string of profanities as I dropped my books for the hundredth time. I couldn't wait to turn sixteen, to not have to rely on my best friend for a ride home. Normally I would walk without complaint, but the fact that I had sprained my ankle complicated things a bit.

I was about two blocks from my house when I dropped my books again but this time I raised my head to the sky and thanked god for the opportunity to hate his guts. Of course, that's when the rain came down in buckets.

"As if my day could get any worse." I mumbled to myself as I bent down and picked up my school books.

When I straightened up I noticed a figure leaning against a tree a few feet away from me. Even though his figure was blurred by the rain, I could make out his red hair was plastered around his face, wet from the rain, and that his angelic features looked like they had been craved from stone. His stark black eyes- such a bold contrast from his pale skin, that they made me flinch- were focused on me.

My day had just gotten a lot worse.

My breath caught in my throat as the red headed vampire smiled, his eyes filled with amusement and... hunger.

I finally understood why I didn't get a ride home today. He had been out in he forest chasing a vampire- this vampire.

God must hate me.

My anger dissipated in an instant, replaced by pure terror and I took a fearful step back, forgetting just for a second I was on crutches. I fell backward and hit the ground, panic flooding me as adrenaline pumped through my veins. It didn't take me long I realized my chances of living weren't good- they weren't very good at all.

The predator took a step forward.

Where was the Pack? I scanned the forest that surrounded the small gravel road as I scurried away from him, still on the ground. I winced in pain as my sprained ankle hit a large rock, but I was to busy scanning the forest for help to care much.

"No one's coming. No one cares what happens to you. No one can save you. It's just you and me." He said his voice rich, silky, and positively terrifying.

"You're wrong. The Pack will kill you. I'm not the one who needs saving, you are." I said trying to sound brave, fearless but I'm sure I didn't pull it off.

"I'm going to enjoy killing you and your precious Pack." He laughed.

"Help!" I screamed.

The predator just laughed at my cry and took another step forward.

Danger sunk into my skin, sending tremors along my skin. I grabbed my crutch and held it in front of me in a sad- and pathetic- attempt to protect myself. Of course, he batted it away as if it were nothing, which I'm sure to him it was. He stood above me, smiling down- his inhumanly white teeth sending shivers down my spine- as he reached down and grabbed the front of my shirt.

My one hundred-something pounds were nothing for his godlike strength and held me up like I was nothing, my feet unable to touch the ground. It wasn't in my nature to go down without a fight, and I twisted and writhed in his hold, feet flailing as I tried to escape. When that failed, as it was only bound to do, I lashed out and I kicked him with my good foot. Which succeeded in doing nothing but make him smile at me with cruel eyes, while I winced in pain in my foot caused by his stone hard skin.

With nothing left to lose, I did the only thing I could think to do. .

"Go to hell." I said, spitting in his face.

Enraged, he threw me, and with his impossible strength I went flying through the air, my stomach doing flips, only to land - skidding- on the gravel. The sharp gravel rocks cut into my flesh on impact, causing blood to flow to the surface.

The predator was practically frantic at the smell, and I took a little solace in that- at least my death would be quick, and really, at this point in time, it was all I could ask for.

I released my breath, sure that it would be my last.

Then, I heard the most beautiful sound in the world, the furious growl of a familiar werewolf.

The vampire headed toward me in a pale blur as gray wolf lept out of the forest. My weak human eyes had little time to focus on the wolf colliding with the vampire a foot in front of me before they were gone, moving much too fast for me to see. With a quick snap of the wolf's jaw the now-decapitated head of the predator flew into the forest on the other side of the road, and bounced into the springy ferns, quick as lightning.

Had I blinked, I'm sure I would have missed the whole thing.

The rest of the Pack shredded what was left of the vampire to bits while I was still laying on the road, my blood staining the dusty brown rocks a violent crimson as it ran in tiny rivers through the holes between the rocks. I took a deep breath and let the steady rain wash away all my panic, however, fear still pounded in my veins, no matter how much I willed it away.

I sucked in a deep breath and I'm sure air has never tasted so good. As I exhaled, my breath was shaky with relief.

The gray wolf bounded into the forest only to return a few moments later, human and clad in a pair of shorts that were worn from seeing one too many trips around the forest.

He didn't say anything as he bent down and picked me up carefully, leaving my school books and crutches behind as he headed into the forest toward his house. His warm arms held me as if I weighed nothing, much like the predator with his impressive strength, and he made no comment on my trembling. His silence was define, ensure by the taught muscles in his jaw. His black-brown eyes were fixed ahead, as he was making a conscious effort not to look at me.

As the adrenaline faded I started hyperventilating, coming to the full realization of what had happen. It's not everyday you come face to face with death itself and survive.

We made it to his house in no time, his steady pace eating up yards easily, and he gently set me down on his faded brown couch once we were inside. He left the room and I couldn't help the unreasonable panic I felt. I saw the vampire die before my eyes, and yet I had the paralyzing fear he was standing right behind me.

Embry returned exactly twenty-eight seconds later, carrying an armful of stuff.

I was so nervous I had actually counted every terror filled second.

He draped a blanket over my shoulders and handed me a brown paper bag, because I was still hyperventilating. I opened the bag hastily and proceeded to breathe heavily into it, letting crinkling of paper soothing me. The sound comforted me, whispering that I hadn't been attacked by a vampire, that everything was fine. As my breathing started to become more natural I noticed that my cuts were stinking and glanced up from the end of the bag to see Embry dabbing my wounds with hydrogen peroxide. He stared at my legs where vertical wounds were scared in my skin, the tiny soaked cotton ball in his huge fingers.

"Thank you." I said my voice rough and as shaky as I was. He met my gaze for the first time, but it lasted for only an instant before he tore his anguished eyes from mine.

"You shouldn't have to thank me. You shouldn't have been in trouble in the first place." He said, continuing to dab at my wounds.

"Yeah, cause it's my fault I got attacked by a vampire." I said sarcastically, sounding like a thirty year old chain-smoking truck driver.

"We should have been watching him closely." He said shaking his head, his eyes distant. "He was there one minute, and just gone the next. We were looking for him when I heard your voice." He closed his eyes. "It was close. Too close."

He handed me a water bottle, as if to say sorry.

I didn't know what to say to that, so I took a long sip of much needed water, and then another.

"I'm alive." I said after a third sip, my voice sounding much better than it had.

"You don't know how scared I was. Scared I would lose you. He could have killed you so easily." He said, wrapping my leg in gauze, covering the long gouges from sight.

"You can't believe how happy I was to hear a growl." I said resting my head against a pillow, suddenly exhausted. He chuckled, the sound forced instead of carefree.

The sudden metallic squeak of the screen door opening made me jump.

"It's just the guys. Don't worry." He said soothingly, noticing my skittish behavior and resting a hand on my arm to comfort me. I sighed at the warmth and the ease it brought me.

The guys charged in cheering and yelling and Embry rolled his eyes at their antics as Jacob sat down next to me, smiling down at me.

"Embry man that was awesome!" Collin cheered, I chuckled at his enthusiasm.

In a manner of seconds the entire Pack managed to squeezed into the small living room.

"Jade, that was sweet." Seth laughed. "You should have seen how pissed his face was after you spit in it."

"That was very clever, distracting him like that." Jacob said. "I've never seen Embry run so fast."

It was hard to tell with his copper skin, and it might have been my imagination, but I thought Embry blushed.

The Pack went through play by play of the action, yelling and cheering in their excitement. I relaxed back into the cushions and let all their voices become a soothing white noise in the back of my thoughts.

The car pulling into the driveway pulled me out of my lull, and I groaned waiting for the inevitable. The car doors opened simultaneously and the sound of my mother's worried voice melded with my father's reassurances. I turned my eyes toward the door and listened in for my mother's hurried footsteps on the sidewalk outside, but they were drowned out by a pack member whooping in triumph. I couldn't miss the squeaking of the screen door hing if I would have tried, and I winced as the sound grated on my nerves.

"Jade, honey are you all right?" My mother asked, slightly out of breath, as she barged in the already crowded room. My father upon sight of me -now assured that I was truly alive, and soon to be tended to by my mother- turned and asked the closest person to him, which was Brady, for a full account of what happened.

"I'm fine, Mom." I protested as she fussed over me. She couldn't fuss long before the back door squeaked open and I jumped as Claire burst in the back door.

I knew it was Claire, not because I could see her, but because Quil immediately ran to her.

"How are you feeling?" Claire asked upon entering the living room, Quil's arm securely around her waist.

"Like a mummy." I stated, which roused a few chuckles from the people listening.

Now that most of the excitement had died down, the Pack had gone from yelling to conversations and the white noise returned, settling on me heavily. My eyes drooped with exhaustion, and I rested my head back against the pillow with a deep breath, comforted by a room full of the voices of the people who cared the most about me, and relieved that danger was gone.

I don't even remember falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own Twilight.**

**

* * *

**

I woke up Saturday with a massive headache, mostly because I hadn't gotten much sleep the night before, waking every hour in pain. I groaned and rolled over. Unfortunately I was still on Embry's couch and landed on the ground with a _humph_, my already bruised muscles screaming in protest. As I pushed myself up and back onto the couch, some of my scabs opened up painfully.

I massaged my throbbing head with aching fingers and noticed two pills sitting on the coffee table next to a tall glass of water.

"Convenient." I mumbled, picking them up. I swallowed them with a large mouthful of water and through my hazy morning thought, I noticed a note lying next to where the cup had been.

_For the pain. Rest. Don't do anything stupid, I'll be back later._

_-Embry_

With a lack of anything better to do, I glanced around the rest of the room to see if he'd left any other instructions and noticed that my school books were lying on the floor under the coffee table. After a straining reach -which really, really hurt- I picked up my notebook to find it covered in dried blood. That's going to be hard to explain to my Geometry teacher. I threw it back down on top of the pile and groaned, unhappily.

The unhappiness? I was sore all over, and I had to pee. Really bad.

I looked for my crutches, only to find them near the door. Damn it.

After deciding that I really couldn't make it to the bathroom without at least one of them, I stood up on my good foot and hopped to them. A scab on my leg opened up and I winced.

Upon getting to my crutches, I noticed one of them has a rather large dent in it. Sighing, I grabbed the good one and proceeded to make my way to the bathroom, hobbling and wincing down the hall that I knew like the back of my hand.

I had been to Embry's plenty of times when my parents were away- he was always my babysitter, unless, of course, he had to 'work', then Jake looked after me. I found out almost all the guys were werewolves when I was ten and I wasn't really surprised; my dad had even been a werewolf.

When I came out of the bathroom Jacob was sitting in the chair next to the couch. When he saw me he ran over to help me walk and I dutifully shoved him away and sat down on my own, throwing my crutch across the room. I hate crutches, it's official.

"You shouldn't be walking." Jacob said, eyeing the crutch, a smile painted on his face.

"I had to pee." I stated, lying back down, as if it was obvious -which it was. I was surprised at how easily exhausted I was after only being up a few minutes- thank goodness my headache was dissipating. "What are you doing here?"

"Checking in to make sure you don't try anything stupid." He said glancing at the note. I scowled.

"Do I often do stupid things?" I asked, irritated. I didn't think the things I did were stupid.

"Yes." He said, chuckling. I shrugged. "Are you hungry?"

"No." I lied. Jacob wasn't the best cook., in fact he was as bad as Paul. The last time I ate something either of them made I got food poisoning and I wasn't about to spend the next 24 hours leaning over a toilet. Unfortunately, my stomach growled, giving away my perfectly convincing lie.

"I'll make you something." He said, getting up -a determined look about him. Let me tell you, Jacob Black should never wear that expression -that determined look leads to very bad things.

"No, I'll do it!" I said, trying to stand up quickly; trying to avoid disaster.

"You are in no condition to cook." He said, gently pushing me back on the couch. I would have resisted more, had I been healthy.

"Better than you on my worst day." I mumbled under my breath.

"The soup wasn't that bad." He said making his way into the kitchen.

"I puked 24 times, Jacob!" I groaned, preparing for the worst.

"Well, I'm not making soup anyway." He said, and I could practically hear the eye-roll in his voice.

"What are you making?" I asked, raising a weary eyebrow.

"Grilled cheese." He said as I heard pans banging around and the fridge being opened.

"Do you know how to make it?" I asked sarcastically, picturing him scratching his head as he stared at the ingredients.

"Yes." He said warily. I chuckled.

"You don't sound so sure." I bit my nails, like I often did when I was board, or nervous.

"I've never actually made it. But I have seen it done." He said. I heard the oven clicking on.

"Cause that makes me feel so much better." I groaned.

"I give you food poisoning once and you never trust my cooking again." He mumbled, mostly to himself.

"For good reason." I winced as I reached for my history homework, because I might as well get something done.

I had finished my history assignment when Jacob returned from the kitchen with two plates and two glasses. He set my plate in front of me, before plopping a glass of milk next to it. I sniffed my milk before I took a sip- it smelled fine, which was comforting. Werewolves never get sick, their high metabolism can burn off most harmful bacteria, so bad milk and eggs are no problem for them; that is -unfortunately- how I got food poisoning for the first time. I can't eat French toast thanks to Paul, and have to check all unlabeled food for freshness for fear of getting sick.

I picked up my sandwich and looked at it wearily- besides the burnt crust it looked fine, but so had the soup. I smelled it and to my pleasant surprise the cheese smelled fresh. After taking a hesitant bite I realized it was safe -for the most part. It wouldn't have tasted very bad if the cheese had been melted. How he had burnt it, but not melted the cheese will forever be a mystery to me.

I noticed Jacob staring at his- probably wondering what was wrong. He shrugged; as if deciding it didn't matter, he was going to eat it anyway. I decided it was better than nothing and took another bite, washing it down with a gulp of milk.

I heard the back door open and close.

Embry walked into the living room, water droplets ran down his bare chest and I forced myself to look away. I held up my plate, offering him the other half of my grilled cheese. He took it and flopped down next to me on the couch, shoving the sandwich in his mouth as he did so. His hair was plastered to his neck and face from the rain and moved with his jaw as he chewed, frowning.

"You must be sick." He said eyeing the sandwich with disgust.

"I didn't make this." I stated.

"It's not that bad!" Jacob said in defense.

"The cheese isn't even melted!"

"So _that's_ what was wrong." Jacob mumbled, eyeing his sandwich curiously before he took the last bite. I scarfed down my sandwich quickly flowing every bite with a gulp of milk. It was better if you didn't focus on the lumpy texture.

"If I get sick again, I will never eat anything you make." I said after draining the last of my milk, brushing the crumbs off my fingers and onto my blood-stained jeans.

"You won't." He said standing up. "I have to go. I have a big date with Nessie."

"Ten bucks says she runs." I whispered to Embry and he chuckled. Jacob heard -of course- and scowled in my direction. I beamed up at him and he rolled his eyes at me before stalking out.

The back door creaked opened and slammed shut.

Then it was just me and Embry, all alone. There was unmistakable tension in the air. It had never been awkward with me and him before, but I could detect an edge to the air and I think he sensed it too, if his restlessness was any indication. I glanced at him and he was staring at me, his eyes wary and curious. I couldn't look away from his intense gaze and my heart thundered in my chest to the point where I'm almost positive he could hear it.

Neither of us looked away until I smelled something burning and my head swung to stare at the kitchen. True to werewolf senses, Embry was already heading in to check it out. Even though he was out of the room the tension still hung in the air and I decided -in a very impulsive and characteristic way- that I couldn't stand it any longer. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and thanked God that it was still working and not shattered into a million little Motorola pieces. Scrolling trough the contacts, I called my mom and asked -almost begged- for her to come pick me up. When I got off the phone Embry was standing in the entrance to the living room.

"Going home so soon?" He asked in a conversational tone.

"I don't want to be a pain in ass." I shrugged, tugging at my sleeves.

"You could never be a pain." He said, striding over to me. Turning on the television took some of the edge out of the air as we sat on the couch. Would it ever be normal with him again? I started biting my nails in frustration and I tried to watch the show- useless, because couldn't focus. Soon my mother pulled into the drive way and I stood up using the arm rest as support.

It was then that I remembered that I threw my crutch across the room. Crap.

"I thought I set your crutches by the door?" Embry asked slyly, getting up and retrieving them for me.

"You did." I said kneeling down to get my books, but he already had them as well. Werewolf speed, figures.

"Then how'd it get over there." He motioned with his head to where it had been, smiling.

"Umm..." I hesitated. "I'd rather not say."

He chuckled.

I used most of my energy getting outside and into the car. Embry had caught me before I fell, twice, and held the door open for me. When me and all my crap were in the car, mom reversed onto the road.

Embry stood watching us go with a sad smile on his face.

"What's the matter?" My mother asked a block from home. She had taken the long way to avoid the sight of my 'incident.' "You seem…. upset."

"I'm not upset." I lied. I was slightly upset, but I wasn't about to admit to myself why. I was always a fantastic liar, even to myself. My mother cast me a half disbelieving look before she decided that I wouldn't budge on my answer, and turned into the driveway with a small sigh.

Every step up to the house was exhausting and painful, but soon I had finally managed to make it in the house and downstairs to my room. I crash-landed on my bed, taking my school books and crutches with me. The sun was starting to set and I realized I had slept most of the day- I had only been up few hours, not including my restless nights sleep.

I guess blood loss does that to you.

I had about a half an hour before I would have to crash- my eyelids were already a bit heavy. Instead of going to sleep right away though, I pulled out my sketch pad from underneath me, shoved my books unceremoniously off my bed, threw my crutch across the room, and began to doodle, not really focusing on what I was drawing. My thoughts wandered aimlessly, dwindling down different paths and it wasn't until I was about to close my eyes that I actually looked at what I had drawn.

It was the eyes of the predator, as dark and sinister as I remembered.

I tossed my sketchbook away, suddenly frightened, my fingers paralysed outward. My eyes squeezed shut reflexively, as if the action would help me forget the hunger in those eyes- eyes that would haunt me for the rest of my life. I flicked off my lamp on my nightstand, not needing to open my eyes, pulled the covers up, and snuggled into their much needed comfort, hoping sleep would be the answer to forget what I had drawn and remembered. For once, I willed myself to have dreamless sleep.

Which, you know, never works.

My dream was frightening.

It happened just like yesterday- assuming that it was still Saturday- but instead of the predator's head flying into the forest, it was Embry's. His lifeless eyes boring into mine, before it landed into the green ferns. It chilled me to the bone.

I sat blot upright in my bed, a terrible scream escaping my lips before my hand came down over them. Fear gripped my heart in vice, like the predator's strength. I was gasping for air, but none would come as I sobbed.

Footsteps thundered down the stairs and a thunderous bang echoed as the door to my room burst open revealing two dark figures in the doorway.

I hardly noticed, all I could see was Embry's lifeless eyes staring back at me. It took a while to finally catch my breath as my sobs shuddered through my body. My arms wrapped around my knees and fingers tugged at my hair- because I had never felt a hopelessness like this. I felt a hand on my back as someone trying to calm me down, obviously worried.

I never cry, not even when I was little even near death experiences make me cry. That's probably why the two figures from the doorway were so concerned. Hell I was the one crying and I was worried- worried for my sanity.

"Jade, it's all right. Everything is fine. Everything will be fine, I promise." Leah said- her voice easily recognizable.

"Are you all right? What happened?" Seth asked, anxiously. I squeezed my eyes shut willing the sight of Embry's demise out of my mind. Sadly, it didn't work- that gaze was ingrained in my mind, the last gift of the predator.

"_I'm going to enjoy killing you and your precious Pack."_ His words echoed through my mind.

"No." I choked out. "I'm not all right." I wasn't.

"I'll be right back." Seth muttered before he sprinted from the room, his feet soundless on the stairs.

"It's alright." Leah said soothingly as she wrapped her arms around me, hugging me tightly. I still saw lifeless eyes behind my eyelids, somehow their gaze was worse than the hungry one I had encountered before.

Turns out, Seth went to get Embry.

My tears hadn't ceased by the time Embry showed up, but fortunately my sobs had.

I couldn't bear look at him, for fear of seeing lifeless eyes. He rubbed my back just like Leah had, his touch sending fresh tears through my system. Seth had dragged Leah out, claiming they had to get back to their round. We were all alone, again.

"Jade, tell me what happened." He begged, his voice filled with sorrow, because he knew I wouldn't.

"The angel died." I responded, my voice emotionless. Tears stilled rolled down my cheeks, I couldn't help it.

"You're not going to tell me anything else, are you?" He asked, even though he knew the answer.

"Nope." I said.

"Something has got to be worrying you if you're crying." He said his voice low, rough.

"I'll deal with it." I sniffed.

"Repressing things isn't good for your health." He stated, sounding like a big brother.

"So? I do a lot of things that are bad for my health." I countered.

"Name one." He smirked, half-heartedly.

"I piss off bloodthirsty vampires in my free time." I smiled, rubbing my tears away.

"That's not funny." He said, shaking his head.

"Yes it is. Any of the guys would have laughed." I said, looking at him. His eyes were closed and there was a small smile on his full lips. His eyes opened and I looked away, not sure if I could handle a look at those eyes.

"Fine I'll give you that one." He said reluctantly. "Bet you don't have another."

I decided to mess with him, because that's what I did with Embry.

"I run around in freezing rain naked." I said, looking at him out of the corner of my eye for his reaction. His eyes widened, he blushed, and his jaw dropped open. I couldn't help myself, I clutched my side, laughing so hard I couldn't breath.

"You…..should…..have……seen….your……face!" I said, catching my breath in my bouts of laughter.

"Very mature." He said standing up and walking over to the door. He lingered in the doorway, his face cast in shadows - the perfect image of a vigilante, a protector.

"I couldn't help myself. I can't miss an opportunity to see you blush." I smiled at him. Little did he know it, but he knew just how to make me feel better.

"I didn't blush." He said quickly, too quickly.

"Defensive." My smile widened.

"Good night, Jade." He said voice low, and my heart gave a extra _thump _at how… sexy he sounded. That's not right. Embry, sexy? Since when?

"Night." I said, ignoring the thump and my thoughts.

I fell back asleep with a smile on my face.


End file.
